PDA

View Full Version : Microsoft makes a phone with Nvidia



wraggster
November 25th, 2008, 00:09
WHAT DO YOU get if you take an Iphone, remove the clean UI, user friendliness, nice industrial design, battery life, cachet, functional OS, and in general everything else that makes it worthwhile? The new Microsoft phone, powered by Nvidia.

Yeah, you heard it right, MS is going to make its own branded phone, after all, everyone kicking the company around the block has one, so it should too! If you were wondering why Nvidia never mentions the phrase Linux when talking Tegra, even though it is the most appropriate OS for the chip, now you know. NV appears to have sold Linux out to get the MS flagship deal, how nice of them.

The phone is slated to be announced at 3GSM this coming February, so if you plan on attending, please look surprised when MS unveils it. No word on when it will hit the streets but it probably won't be long after that.

We think this 'me too' phone will have all the success of the Zune. With that device, MS showed they know how to make an MP3 player that people want, great design, a UI that is vastly superior to the competition, and enough added bells and whistles so it is sure to disappoint the eight kids who find them under a Christmas tree.

Then there is the whole problem of partners. MS loves partners, using the Zune as an example, it is hard to see why anyone would not stick with the firm. Has MS ever up and decided to cut it's entire partner ecosystem off with a hearty 'too bad'? I mean this year. Forget about 2006. Really. Please. While we haven't heard any specifics yet, it is the MS MO to surprise their loyal partners and take the market they created. We would be quite surprised if they didn't do it this time.

In any case, well-placed sources tell the Inq that the phone is powered by the long-promised Nvidia Tegra chip. This means battery life measured in minutes and a long list of promised features that mostly work as long as you don't mind the odd bout of data corruption. Ironically, this is quite the natural fit for an MS OS.

In the end, we only have three months or so to wait. It has all the pieces to be a stunningly mediocre product, with none of the things that made the Iphone or Gphone great. About the only thing you can say is that they have a mostly functional store in place now. µ

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/11/21/microsoft-phone-nvidia